With artist Nikki Carson demonstrating scissor skills, a ribbon-cutting declares the Crafted Canvas studio open for business.

 

CARMICHAEL, CA (MPG) - Nikki Carson has started business with a clean canvas. Dozens of them, in fact.

Central to the Carmichael mother’s studio at Fair Oaks Boulevard is a massive worktable with a dozen easels standing at attention. Here, children and adults vent their artistic whims.

“It’s long been my dream to have this space for creativity,” said the 35-year-old mother of two. “Gowing up, art was my safe space. I was the kid who spent lunches in the art room. Teachers became my mentors; painting gave me a way to express myself.”

Art also nurtured life-long friendships. Carson’s chums came out of the woodwork to celebrate the recent opening of her Crafted Canvas studio. The business supplies art and crafting materials and offers Carson’s stylish paintings as greeting cards and hangable canvases.

Nikki Carson demonstrates painting techniques with students at her Fair Oaks Boulevard studio.

The studio’s biggest drawcard are classes that Carson instructs. Adult group tuition allows participants to take home paintings that are guided step by step. “But I also encourage people, especially children, to express themselves in their own creative style,” the teacher said. 

Children’s parties are another studio specialty. More options are adult paint-outs or paint-and-sip evenings.

“We’ve hosted fundraisers, family reunions, bachelorette parties and team building for businesses,” said Carson. “And painting is something different for a date night. It’s a change from staring at someone across a table. I want to have parents and children paint portraits of each other for Mother’s or Father’s days. It’s a bonding experience for a child to look carefully into a parent’s face. I’d also love to have people here painting their pets.”

Nikki Carson’s new business gets a welcome-wagon visit from Congressman Ami Bera’s representative Josh Gumacol, Assemblyman Josh Hoover’s representative Lane Connick and Carmichael Chamber of Commerce President Rosie Buck.

The studio has begun an after-school art-enrichment club for students 8 and older. Carson also runs crafting workshops, from block printing to resin art and fresh wreath-making.

 “There’s something creative here for everyone. My 9-year-old daughter is a watercolorist but she recently took our block-printing workshop and fell in love with making her own stamps,” Carson said. “Creating art teaches people to trust their own voice and style. It strengthens attention to detail and critical thinking. It lowers stress and fosters friendships and teamwork. Working beside others builds connection and community.”

Learn about The Crafted Canvas online at www.thecraftedcanvas.com